The lawyer for one of the football players at the center of an NFL bullying scandal said Thursday night this client “endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing.”

David Cornwell, who is representing former Miami Dolphins lineman Jonathan Martin, said Martin “made a difficult choice” to leave the team late last month, after Martin was reportedly bullied and harassed by teammate Richie Incognito. Incognito has been suspended from the team pending an investigation, and while many of Incognito’s teammates have defended him, the controversy has embroiled the NFL in a debate about its locker room culture.

“For the entire season and a half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment,” Cornwell said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying. Despite these efforts, the taunting continued.”

Pushing back against reports that coaches had asked Incognito to “toughen up” Martin after the latter missed a team workout, Cornwell said: “Jonathan Martin’s toughness is not at issue. The issue is Jonathan’s treatment by his teammates.”

Dolphins players at practice this week said that they never witnessed locker room behavior crossing the line, and that the team is focused on its upcoming game on Monday in Tampa Bay.

There is a really simple solution to this. Incognito out of NFL. Dolphins out for a season. Coach out for life. All players with knowledge of it fined $100K. Bet that changes the song they are singing. This sort of behavior is unacceptable.

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@Openminded1@Hotpuppy I guess you are a bully because anyone with repect and value will not bully another person. This is the main reason why young children are acting as bullies. How dare you call this young man a whimp? Your are the whimp and the person who bullied him along with the team members who plead the fifth. This bullying is too prevalent in society and laws should be put in placed to stop this horrendous action. There is an old saying today for me tomorrow for you. Check yourself openminded1

@rm2425@Openminded1@Hotpuppy He is a wimp and so are you if you are a man. This was not a child,he is a full grown man in the NFL. he is the first baby In my 63 years of life in the NFL that has ever complained to the media and got an attorney for being messed with by a fellow player and players. he does not belong on an NFL team, this was not pop warner.